A New Beginning
by Princess Mariana
Summary: James Potter is determined to get Lily Evans to go out with him. She refuses and, after a lot of pestering, states that she would rather give up her wand then go out with them. James decides to steal her wand and devices a plan to win her over.


**I do not own the Harry Potter series. Contains spoilers. **

"Lily, will you-?"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Why-?"

"No."

Lily Evans was walking to the library with James Potter following her. He was trying to convince her to go to Hogsmeade with him.

"Just this once?"

"Potter," she snapped, "I would rather give up my wand than go out with you."

She left James behind, her head held high. "She'll see sense eventually, mate," one of James's best friends, Sirius Black, told his friend as he walked over.

"Why doesn't she like me?" James groaned.

"We need to formulate a plan," Remus Lupin said thoughtfully.

A grin spread across James' face, "I have an idea."  
"Like usual," Sirius muttered.

"She said," James said excitedly, "that she would rather give up her wand than go out with me, so we steal her wand."

The group headed towards the Gryffindor common room. "Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed sarcastically, "I'm sure that she would definitely go out with you if you did that."

"Sunshine," James told the fat lady and they walked into the common room. The boys collapsed into chairs.

"What if," James suggested, "we steal her wand and…" he explained the plan to his friends who nodded excitedly.

Wormtail asked, "When?"

"Tomorrow," James answered, "It's a Saturday so everyone will be outside. But now we will steal the wand."

Lily walked down the lonely halls to the Gryffindor common room. A spell hit her in the back. She collapsed. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and looked around for her attacker. Seeing no one, she checked her pocket for her wand. Instead of finding it, she found a note. It said:

_Dear Miss Lily Evans,_

_I have your wand. If you ever want to see it again, do as I say. On Saturday, go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. There will be a potion there__. Drink all of it. There will be another note next to it. It will tell you what to do next. If anyone finds out about this, you will find your wand lying on your bed, snapped in half._

Lily stared at the note, fuming. Somehow had stolen her wand! And as much as she hated to admit it, she was going to have to do as the note said. She shoved it in her pocket and continued walking.

The next day, Lily woke up bright and early. The Gryffindor walked to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Just as the note had said, there was a note and next to it was a cup filled with a strange liquid. She drank it all and gagged. It tasted horrible. A strange sensation made her feel light that made her feel dizzy. It lasted for about a minute.

When the feeling had passed, Lily read the note:

_Dear Miss Lily Evans,_

_There are __four__ yellow flags around the castle. You must find them all. But first, do this. The first boy in your grade you see, tell everything. If he offers to help, except. You two will have to then find all the flags without splitting up. _

Lily sighed; she really wanted her wand back. As she left the room, she thought about whom to ask for help. Severus would probably help, but she wasn't talking to him anymore. Maybe Lupin would help. In the midst of her thoughts, she wasn't paying attention when…Bang! Lily had collided with someone. Both students fell back. The boy quickly stood back up and offered her a hand to help her up. She took it, blushing, and apologized, "Sorry."

"It was my fault. I'm sorry," he replied politely. Lily looked at him curiously. She didn't ever remember seeing him before. The boy had messy black and was about two inches taller than her. The boy smiled at her, he had a nice smile, "I'm James Potter, by the way."

There was something familiar about the name, but Lily couldn't put her finger on it. She smiled back at him, "Nice to meet you. I'm Lily Evans."

There was pause when a thought crossed her mind. She asked him, "Are you a sixth year?"

He nodded. Lily then explained all about her wand being stolen and the notes. "Of course I'll help!" he exclaimed. "Where do we start?"

Lily sighed, "I don't know. I wish we had a map."

James grinned, "I have a map. It shows all of Hogwarts and all of the people in it."

He took out parchment and his wand. Pointing his wand at the parchment, he muttered something. Seconds later a map appeared. There were little dots moving around. They were labeled with names. Lily gasped, "Amazing."

James smirked. The two decided to start searching on the first floor, first. The first flag was found quickly. Written on it was a command:

_First Find__,_

_You're so Kind_

_The Second Step__,_

_You Shall Check_

_The Second Floor__,_

_Flags Galore_

_Good Luck__,_

_My Duck_

"He called me a duck!" Lily cried, furious.

James looked like he was trying not to laugh. "I think," he said, grinning, "that your thief fancies you."

Lily glared at him and said through gritted teeth, "He called me a duck."

"_His _duck and he called you kind," James said, laughing.

Lily glowered at, but his laugh was addicting and it was hard to be mad. Lily couldn't hide a smile. The flag squeaked, "Turn me around!"

Lily, surprised, flipped the flag. On the back, she read:

_You don't get off so easy_

_To make you more queasy_

_At the mission_

_I'll soon have you skippin'_

_But don't fret,_

_Since you won't do that yet,_

_Instead you will tell him to give his wand a wave_

_And he will mutter Corinave_

_But don't dwell,_

_Just work the spell_

_And time will tell_

_My Belle_

Lily frowned, "What did he mean by 'Belle'?"

James read over her shoulder and replied, "I really think he fancies you. The name Belle means beauty."

"When I get my wand back," Lily growled, "This person will be sorry."

James laughed and asked her, "So do you want me to do the spell?"

Lily hesitantly nodded. Smiling, the boy waved his wand and said, "Corinave!"

His hand instantly grabbed hers. James winced, "Sorry. I guess the spell makes the caster hold hands with the closest person. It seems that we're going to have to hold hands until we find a counter curse."

Lily sighed, "This person must really hate one of us."

The two then headed, hand-in-hand, to the second floor. Once there, they had to wander a bit until spotting a yellow flag hanging in midair. James grabbed it and they both read:

_Half Way There,_

_Yet, Do You Care?_

_Finding __My next flag this time_

_Will __have a fine_

_Cast another spell_

_To quell_

_Your comfort_

_Just yell Lumport_

_Now, my dear,_

_I'll be quite clear_

_Once you catch me_

_I'll give you a cup of tea_

James laughed again, "I think he was flirting with you."

Lily rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at the sound of his laugh. Lily shook away this feeling. "Ready?" James asked her.

She nodded and James yelled, "Lumport!"

Lily collapsed, still holding his hand. "Are you alright?" James asked her worriedly.

She nodded and tried to stand. James grinned a little, "I guess this means I'm going to have to carry you."

Lily winced and James scooped her up in his arms, still holding her hand. "The third floor?" he asked her.

Lily nodded. James walked around, carrying her, the fourth flour until they found the flag. Lily had to pick it up this time, since James' hands were full. It said:

_Good,_

_Soon you will see my hood_

_Or shall I say, not see,_

_For your eyes will be_

_Unseeing_

_For the time being_

_You must be cursing_

_My darling_

"I think," James said thoughtfully, "That you need to be blindfolded."

James tried to fish through his pocket. Finally, he managed to retrieve his wand. When he waved it, a black handkerchief emerged out of it. Together the two tied it in a knot around her head. Soon she couldn't see anything. "To the fourth floor," James announced with confidence as he began to walk.

Finally, they stopped. "I found it," James said triumphantly, "It tells you to drink this potion. But first, it says to, er…"

"What is it?" Lily said curiously.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Instead I'll just do it," James said solemnly.

Before Lily could regester what was happening, James was kissing her. Half of her wanted to jerk back, but another part of her enjoyed her. Suddenly, James released her, "Sorry about that. It told me I couldn't warn you."

Lily mutely nodded. "Now for the potion," James said briskly.

Lily felt a cup being pressed to her lips. She drank all of it and memories of James came back. "You!" she shrieked, "Potter, you are so dead! You stole my wand and then pretended to help me, after you made me forget about you. You _git!_"

"I told you she wouldn't take it well," a familiar voice said.

"She can't hate me any more than she did, Padfoot," James replied simply.

"You want to bet?" Lily spat.

James laughed, which infuriated her even more. "Potter!" she shouted at him. "Put me down, now!"

James laughed again, "Not yet."

"You might want to put her down," a sensible voice said.

"But, Moony," James said with amusement, "she'll just fall again. The curse is still on her."

"Then you should remove it," Remus told him wisely.

James sighed, "Alright."

He took off all the spells and the blindfold, and then put her down. Lily attempted to whack him, but he ducked and asked her, "Will you go out with me?"

"Fine," she snapped and stomped off.

"It worked," Padfoot said in awe.

"Of course," James said smugly. "It was _my_ plan, after all."

**Even though I wrote it, this always makes me laugh. It is awfully written and not very realistic, but it makes me laugh, which is good enough for me. Please review and tell me what you think of it!**

** I decided to write this after I read a couple of Lily/James fanfictions. They're a great couple because they **_**have**_** to end up together and James is **_**really**_** cool, idiotic, **_**and **_**charming. He's the dream guy for many girls (though if a guy cursed **_**my**_** best friend and then flirted with me, it would not go over well). **


End file.
